NOT one, and not two, but nine couples celebrated their golden wedding anniversary with a Worcestershire church.

St James the Great church in Cradley put on a special service on July 12 for couples from the community who were celebrating 50 years of marriage, after hearing that so many were due to celebrate in the same month.

While seven could attend, all nine got a special mention at the service.

Reverend Robert Ward, who has been the vicar at the church for the past eight years, said it was a "very special occasion".

"It all began when I was talking to a couple from our congregation who are celebrating their 50 years this year," he said.

"They knew about another couple who were also celebrating their golden anniversary this year, and they also knew about another couple. Before we knew it we had found nine different couples in Cradley who were all celebrating the milestone this year. It was incredibly unusual, so we felt we had to do something special to mark the occasion."

The church put on a service with prayers and hymns, and seven couples attended.

Rev'd Ward said: "We carefully selected special readings and hymns that the couples may have heard at their weddings 50 years ago. All couples were then presented with a bouquet of flowers created by Mother's Union. It was a terrific, lovely day and a real pleasure to be able to host the special day."

Lynne and John Rowe were one of the couples celebrating.

Mrs Rowe said: "John and I met when I was 16 in our local church in Torquay. We actually moved to Cradley and married in the church, so it was lovely to be able to celebrate in a church we have that history in, which I also think it quite unusual. It was a really nice service and we enjoyed the day."

But despite the abundance of golden celebrations, Rev'd Ward said the church caters for people of all ages.

"We have about seven baptisms in a row in the coming weeks, which is great. We always put on special services for families. We have quite a varying age range in terms of our congregation. It's a lovely church in a beautiful village. It's nice to be able to celebrate these occasions with people in the village."